FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

We have pulled together some commonly asked questions to help your business understand more about Bacs services.

Direct Debit is a simple, safe and convenient way to manage your household bills or make regular or occasional payments from your bank or building society account. You agree with the organisation the amount to be collected and the date of payment. From then on the amount will be deducted from your account as agreed. If they need to change the amount or collection date, they have to notify you first.

Most current accounts at banks and building societies can be used to make Direct Debit payments. Some special deposit accounts also allow them.

You will require the following information:

  • Your name and address
  • The name and address of your bank or building society
  • Your bank or building society account number
  • The branch sort code of your bank or building society (see your debit card or banking app)
  • The name(s) on the account.

No. Only the account holder can set up the Direct Debit Instruction. In this instance the organisation concerned would forward a paper Direct Debit Instruction to you for authorisation.

Around 40,000 organisations use Direct Debits for collecting a variety of regular and occasional bills including utility payments, insurance, council tax, mortgages, loans, vehicle tax, and subscriptions.

No, Direct Debits can only be set up from a UK bank account.

Unlike card payments, Direct Debits don’t clear instantly. Instead, it takes 3 days to set up each new payer, and to collect from payers who you currently have a Direct Debit relationship with.Once GoCardless has collected payment from your customer we hold the money for 2 working days before sending it directly to your bank account.

The Direct Debit Guarantee offers protection to customers paying by Direct Debit in the rare event that there is an error in a payment.If a customer receives a refund they are not entitled to, they must pay it back at the organisation’s request. Dispute resolution takes place outside of the Direct Debit scheme.

No. According to direct debit rules, they are charged to your bank account on the same date each month, unless this falls on a weekend or on a bank holiday, in which case the company will take them on the next working day.

There is no need to worry about late payment charges or changing your direct debit date, as this will be done automatically.

Yes – the Direct Debit bulk change process allows you to move Direct Debits between providers easily. Absolute Payment Solutions has experience managing the entire transfer process for small, medium, and large organisations. Your existing customers won’t need to take any action whatsoever, and we offer this service free of charge.

 

​You will receive notification of any rejected Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs) within five working days of sending the Direct Debit Instruction to the paying payment service provider​ advising the reason for return.​

​There’s only one major difference with AUDDIS – the signed Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) is retained by you, not the paying payment service provider​ (PSP). You simply enter your customers’ details into your own system and send them electronically – via Bacs – to the customer’s PSP.​

Bacs Direct Credit is a simple, secure and reliable service, which enables large and small organisations to make payments by electronic transfer directly into your accounts.​​

​’Cleared’ funds on arrival – unlike cheques funds paid by Bacs Direct Credit can be used on the day they arrive.​

Bacs Direct Credit is mainly used for paying wages and salaries – in fact over 90% of the UK workforce is paid via Bacs Direct Credit. However, Bacs Direct Credit can be used for a wide variety of other applications. Over 150,000 organisations use Bacs Direct Credit for supplier payments, pensions, employee expenses, insurance settlements, dividends and refunds. The Department for Work and Pensions pay the majority of their benefits this way.​

Nothing. Direct payment is the term used by the Department for Work and Pensions for making Bacs Direct Credit payments.​

* Information provided has been collected and collated from the bacs.co.uk website.